Feed regulator



(No Model.) I 4; Shets-Sheet 1. H. A. BAR'NARD.

FEED REGULATOR.

No. 379,198. 8 Patented'Mar. 6, 1888.

WITJVESSES- 11v VENTOR Barnard flttorney 8 I N. PETERS. Pnulwmlnugmphcf. Washmglim. u. c,

(No Model.) 4 Sheets.Sheet 2.

H. A. BARNARD FEED REGULATOR.

No. 379,193, Patented Mar.'6, 1888.

WITNESSES- I INVEJVTOR- fi fimglyizizarmra'l,

flttorney N PETERS Phulo-Lllhgrapher. Wash n ton. D.C.

(No Modei.) 4 Sheets8heet 3.

H. A. BARNARD. FEED REGULATOR.

No; 379,193. Patented M81. 6, 1888.

WITNESSES (No Model.) 4 SheetsSheet 4.

H. A. BARNARD. FEED REGULATOR.

No. 379,198. Patented Mar. 6-, 1888.

WITNESSES I I N V'EJV' TOR jarnarbl.

' .dttarfiey v N. PETERS PhotwLflMgnphar. Washin ton. D. a

7 tion through the feed-hoppers of a rollermill,

UNITED STATES PATENT Crrrcn.

HEMAN A. BARNARD, OF MOLINE, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO THE BARNARD & LEAS MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

FEED-REGULATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 379,193, dated March 6, 1888.

Application filed March 25, 1887.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HEMAN A. BARNARD, of Moline, in the county of'Rock Island and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvementsin Feed-Regulators; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a central vertical transversesecshowing my improved feed-regulating mechanism applied. Fig. 2is a vertical longitudinal section of Fig. 1 on line 00 m. Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view of a feed-hopper, showing a modification of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a similar view showing a feed-roller employed in connection with the vibrating valve. Fig. 5 is a central vertical section similar to Fig. 1, show ing a modification of the spring for the vibratingvalve. Fig. 6 is a bottom view of the hoppers and the mechanisms shown in Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a similar view to Fig. 5, showing the feed cut-off, the valves being closed. Fig. Sis a side elevation of the double feed-hopper casing. Fig. 9 is a broken detail view of the aligning plate on the bottom of the vibrating valve. Fig. 10 is a sectional view of the same.

This invention relates to improvements in feeding devices for mills and other machines for operating upon grain wherever it is necessary to feed the grain from the hopper into the machine in a continuous and even stream. The invention is designed to effect these requisites, and is especially designed for use on roller-mills, either single or double, and is illustrated as applied to such a mill.

The invention consists in the construction and novel combinations of parts, hereinafter described, illustrated in the drawings,and particularly specified in the annexed claims.

In the drawings, A A designate the feedhoppers applied upon the frame of the rollermi'll above the crushingrolls thereof.

The feed-hoppers and their attached parts dieingconstructed alike, the description of one only is necessary for an understanding of both.

The hopper is provided internally with the inclined sides or valves B C, which converge inwardly, as shown, to a point nearly verti- Serial No. 232,401. (No model.)

cally above the bite of the crushing-rolls, so that grain escaping between the lower ends of i said partitions will fall between the rolls, to be ground thereby. The valve C is hinged near 5 its upper edge, as shown, so that it can be swung or vibrated. The valve B may also be hinged. A

b b designate metal lips or flaps secured to the lower side edges of valve B and embracing between them the side edges of valve C, and serving to keep the lower edge of the latter true in its relation to the corresponding edge of valve B. The lower inner edge of valve C is provided witha longitudinal plate, L, which rests in a suitable recess in the surface of said valve, so that their outer faces are flush. The plate is provided with suitable ,bolts, Z, which play through slots in valve C, and are retained by ordinary nuts and washers, as shown in Fig. 10. By means of the plate L any wear between the lower edge of valve 0 and its 0pposite valve can be compensated for and the sides of the feed-opening kept parallel. The lower edge of valve B is preferably strength- 7 5 ened or protected by a hard-wood strip, 1), rounded, as shown, for contact with valve C.

D designates a re-enforcing strip, preferably secured to valve C, centrally of the length and at right angles to the grain thereof when the valve is made of wood.

E designates a U-shaped spring-bar, having one of its arms secured to the lower end of strip D on valve C. The front or outer end of this spring E curves upwardly, as shown, and 8 is adapted to be engaged by a vibrator-wheel,

F, having a series of projections on its periphery, which are adapted to strike against the outer arm of spring E when in operation and cause the vibration of the latter and valve C. When the hopper is empty, the spring E causes valve C to close against valve B; but when material is supplied to the hopper the power of spring E is overcome and valve C opens sufficiently to permit the material to feed from the 9 5 hopper.

The wheelFis mounted on ashaft, flproperly journaled in the sides of the hopper, and extended at one end outside of its bearing and having a pulley, G, upon it, receiving motion by a belt, g, from any suitable source of power, preferably from a pulley on the extended shaft of one of the rolls, so that when the rolls are stopped the vibrations of the feeding mechanism will also cease.

The outer end of spring E, which is struck by the wheel F, is preferably provided with a padding, 6, of rawhide or other suitable material, to deaden the noise and prevent wear of the spring and wheel.

In place of spring E, in some cases the spring M (shown in Figs. 5 and 7) may be used. This spring is a short bayonet-shaped arm, preferably made of wood, and has its shank secured to the under side of valve 0 and its tongue on extended, to be engaged by wheel F, as shown. The tongue in is preferably provided with a padding, 6, also, for the purpose stated.

In order to regulate the effect produced by the weight of the material in the hopper, and consequently the amount of material supplied to the rolls, I employ a tension device for controlling the spring E, which is constructed as follows:

H designates a s pring-arm, secured by its upper end to the strip D on the valve 0 at the upper end of the same. This spring has its free end resting on the upper outer end of spring E, above its pad 6, as shown.

I designates a bolt passing through valve 0 and through a proper opening in spring-arm H, near the upper end thereof. The part of bolt I outside of the valve is threaded, and upon the bolt, outside the spring-arm H, is placed a threaded thumb nut, i, which is adapted to bear against spring arm H, as shown. It is obvious that by turning nntz' on bolt I the pressure of spring-arm H on spring E can be varied to close the latter more or less, so as to regulate its strength, and consequently the extent that it will yield to the pressure of material in the hopper, and at the same time, as it varies the distance between the ends of spring E, it varies the distance between valve 0 and wheel F, thereby regulating the distance between the lower edges of valves 0 and B and amount of material supplied to the rolls.

The operation of this arrangement is as follows: If the parts are so adjusted that the spring E will just close the opening between the valves when there is not sufficient mate- 7 rial in the bin to properly supply the mill,

upon filling the hopper the weight of the material counteracts the action of spring E, separating valve 0 from valve B, so that when the wheel F is rotated the valve 0 will be vibrated and material properly fed to the rolls, the vibrations of valve 0 will be of less extent when the bin is full of material, owing to the yielding of spring E, the vibrations increas ing in extent as the amount of material decreases, and when the material becomes too low the spring will cause valve 0 to approach valve B so close as to stop the feed, as is evident, and when in this position the vibrations of valve 0 against valve B will producea rattling noise sufficient to warn the miller of the stoppage of feed.

In order to provide means for positively stopping the feed, a cam, J, is mounted on a rod, j, journaled in the sides of the hopper beneath valve 0. Said cam is adapted to impinge against valve 0, as shown, when the rod j is turned and force the lower edge of valve 0 against the valve B, closing the feed-aperture. One of the ends of rod j is extended outside its journal, and is provided with a crank-arm, K, by which it is adapted to be turned. When used on double-roller mills, as shown in Figs. 6 and 8, the rods j have their cranks K placed on their ends on the same side of the machine, and are connected by a lever-bar, k, as shown, so that the feed of both hoppers can be stopped or started by shifting rod k either to the right or left, and consequently causing the engagement or disengagement of the cams J and valves C.

If desired, a feed-roller, N, may be placed in the feed-opening, as shown in Fig. 4, the valve B being fixed and valve 0 vibrating against said roller, the parts operating in all particulars as above described. The roll N is provided with a suitable pulley at one end, and rotated by means of a suitable belt from any proper motor. The valves B, as shown in Figs. 1, 5, 6, 7, and 8, are hinged and rest against a cam, O, mounted on a rod, 0, suitably journaled in the sides of the hopper, and by rotating the rod the cam O is engaged with valve 0 and holds the same in different positions. The rod is held by means of an arm, P, secured on one of its ends outside the hopper, said arm having a suitable thumb-screw, p, at its free end engaging with a slotted arcshaped bracket, Q, secured on the side of the hopper, as shown, and-by which the rod and its cam can be held at different angles.

R designates a spring-arm secured to valve B, as shown, and interposed between said TOO valve and the cam O. This spring will tend to press valve B against valve 0.

By means of the hinged valve B and its connections, as described,the amount of material supplied to the rolls can be regulated, the adjustment of the spring compensated for,or the feed of either hopper positively stopped independently of the other, and bymeans of camsJ and their connections, acting on valves 0, I can stop the feed of both hoppers simultaneously independently of the action of the crushing-rolls, and, further, by means of the hinged valves 0 and springs E and the adjusting devices therefor, the feed will be stopped whenever the supply of material in the hopper gets below a predetermined amount.

Having described my invention, I claim- 1. The combination,with a hopper, a valve hinged thereto, a vibrator-Wheel for vibrating said valve, and a spring on said valve for re- IIO ceiving the impact of said wheel, of an adjusta hopper having oppositely-inclined hinged valves and a vibrator-Wheel at one side thereof,

with a spring interposed between one of said valves and the vibrating whee], a slotted 5 bracket fastened to said hopper, a cam mounted on a suitable rod, and a crank arm mounted on said rod and having a thumb-screw operatingin said slotted bracket,whereby the opening be tween the valves may be regulated, substantially as and for the purpose described.

3. In a feeding device,the combination,with a hopper, of ahinged valve, 0, havingaspring, E, a vibrator-wheel engaging said spring, a spring-arm, H, a nut and bolt controlling said arm and thereby regulating the tension of spring E, and ashaft, f, carrying the vibratorwheel, all substantially as and for the purpose described.

'4. The combination, in a feeding device, of a hopper, a hinged valve therein, having a spring, E, secured to its lower surface, an adjustable plate, L, a springarm, H, a bolt and nut for controlling said spring and thereby regulating the tension of spring E, with a vibrating wheel, F, a shaft, f, carrying said wheel, and the-pulley G and belt 9, for imparting motion to said shaft, all substantially as and for the purpose described.

5. The combination, in a feeding device, of 0 a valve, B, having lips I) b, the valve 0, having re-enforce D, U-shaped spring E, and spring-arm H, for regulating the tension of spring E, and the bolt I and nut t, for regulating the arm H,'with the vibrator-wheel F,

its shaft f, and actuating pulley and belt, sub- 3 5 stantially as described.

6. In a feeding device for roller-mills, a hopper provided with a hinged valve, 0, having a curved spring, E, secured thereto, a spring-arm, vH, and its adjusting bolt and nut 0 for regulating the tension of spring E, also secured to said valve, in combination with a vibrating wheel, F, actuating valve 0 through spring E, its shaft f, and pulley G, and the belt g, actuating said shaft from a pulley on a 5 roll-shaft, all substantially as and for the pur pose described.

7. The combination of a hopper having a hinged valve, with a spring, R, on said valve,

a cam, O, engaging said spring, a shaft, 0, arm 50 P, and bracket Q, all constructed and arranged and adapted to operate substantially in the manner and for the purpose described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I affix my signatnrein presence of two 5 witnesses.

HEMAN A. BARNARD. Witnesses:

SOL. HIRSCH, G. F. HEMENWAY. 

